Prostitution in Malawi

The issue of sex work has been brought to the forefront of Malawi’s attention due to the recent “rescue” of a young girl from sex work in Mzimba. (Nyasa Times) Young women are drawn into sex work for a multitude of reasons, but in a country with such a high HIV prevalence rate, sex work poses even greater dangers than in other locations. Sex workers and police officers are the populations with the highest HIV prevalence rates in Malawi. It is estimated that eighty percent of “Bar Girls” in Malawi are living with HIV. (Nyasa Times) Still, prostitution remains a somewhat common profession for young women in Malawi, despite the risks.

As Malawi urbanizes many people move from rural farmland, which has been declining in livability due to drought and shrinking land holdings. These displaced people are often moved into menial professions in the towns and cities, struggling to make ends meet. This movement is one major source of prostitution; prostitution is a way that rural women can survive in the city. Women often get jobs as Bar Girls, a common entry point into prostitution. Bar Girls serve beer and other beverages at bars and from that gain access to a male clientele. Some parents allow their daughters to get jobs as bar girls, not always knowing what this may mean, to help support the family. These girls occasionally choose to do sex work, other times they are forced by employers. (Health Transition Review)

Several issues exist with the prevalence of sex work. The first is the spread of HIV. Since prostitution is illegal in Malawi, sex workers are resistant to get tested and be honest about their sexual practices with doctors. Though many sex workers claim to use protection, it is difficult to monitor how many actually understand and practice safe sex. The second issue is the prostitution of young girls.  In the most recent case reported by the Nyasa Times, a fifteen year old girl had been choosing to do sex work to save money until the Luvwele Mothers’ Group stepped in. After receiving support and counseling from the Mothers’ Group, the girl chose to go back to school

There is a national conversation about whether these issues could be mitigated by legalizing prostitution. Many traditional groups insist that prostitution remain illegal but other organizations such as Malawi Women in Tourism (MWIT) insist that legalizing prostitution is the best way to keep sex workers safe. As it currently is, sex workers are committing a crime, so they find it more difficult to seek medical help or stand up for their right to use protection. It also makes it easier for employers to hide that they are using underage women as Bar Girls / sex workers. If it were legal for prostitutes to sell consensual sex, they could be regulated for age and tested for STD / STI prevention.  These women would also feel safer going to the police about abuse or other issues. Concerns about the safety of sex trade, the modern-day slave trade, and sex tourism counterbalance these positives, creating a difficult choice in policy. (Nyasa Times)

It is unlikely that prostitution will disappear from Malawi, or any place for that matter, anytime soon. However, with proper regulation, it might be possible that young girls could be kept in school and the spread of HIV could be slowed. Whether it is through legalization of prostitution or better protection by parents and groups, we hope for the safety of women young and old, and fewer and fewer HIV infections.

Post written by Zoey Ponder and Emily Stallings

Antiretroviral Therapy In Low-Income Countries

One of the key tools in preventing the spread and deadly potential of HIV/ AIDS is antiretroviral therapy. Antiretroviral drugs include several classes of drugs that help fight HIV in various stages. Antiretroviral therapy works in one of two ways to slow the spread of HIV within the body as well as the spread from person to person. This can be accomplished by either inhibiting the HIV-infected cells’ ability to reproduce or by protecting the healthy T-cells (the cells that fight HIV). According to UNAIDS, an organization devoted to the treatment and prevention of HIV/ AIDS, “Antiretroviral therapy averted 5.5 million deaths in low- and middle-income countries from the peak in 1995 until 2012. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for most of those lives saved.” (UNAIDS)

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) works most effectively when started as early as possible and continued throughout the life of the patient. This is a huge obstacle in low-income countries. Supplying patients living with HIV with consistent medical care and treatment is expensive. Proper ART requires routine viral blood monitoring to check that the HIV virus has not mutated to be resistant to treatment. In addition to monitoring, patients need to be supplied with proper treatment to stay one step ahead of the virus.  If the virus progresses past a certain point, patients must be switched from the more affordable first-line treatment to more aggressive and expensive second-line treatments. However, early and regular therapy can keep a patient on first-line treatment for substantially longer.

In recent years generic antiretroviral drugs have become available, reducing the cost of preventing and treating HIV/AIDS. Still, “For middle income countries the situation is worse, with some countries paying more than 12 times more than the lowest known price.” (MSF) The cost of treating and preventing HIV/AIDS remains one of the main inhibiting factors to treatment in low-income countries. According to UNAIDS,  “In at least 14 countries in Africa, 80% or more of people who were estimated to be eligible for treatment under the 2013 WHO guidelines were not receiving antiretroviral therapy as of December 2012.” (UNAIDS) Simply put, countries cannot afford to treat everyone who is eligible for treatment. Some of the most neglected groups are children, sex workers, pregnant women, and homosexual men.

Antiretroviral therapy promises to grow in application and therefore reduce the occurrence of HIV/AIDS in Africa and worldwide.  The risk of spreading the HIV virus is reduced by 96% in patients receiving ART. These treatments also allow patients living with HIV to stay healthy and at work, reducing the burden on the family and community as a whole.  People receiving ART have a greatly reduced risk of acquiring secondary illnesses which are usually the major cause of death in individuals with AIDS. With continued attention to the prevention and treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS in low-income countries, there is hope that we will see a much healthier Africa in our lifetimes.

Post written by Intern, Zoey Ponder

Healthcare in Malawi

In Malawi, the health care system has been at the forefront of concerns among citizens and the government alike for years. Organizing sufficient health care and providing the resources to promote good health in Malawi has been a constant struggle. Recently, hospitals have been suffering from shortages of clean water, beds, and adequate staffing; making providing adequate health care difficult. 

At Khombedza Health Center, near Salima, expectant mothers and other patients who are able are required to sleep on the floor. In some cases, when space runs out on the floors in the ward, patients are forced to sleep in hallways or outside areas. According to the Nyasa Times the hospital simply does not have enough beds to be able to provide one for every patient. Due to its location near two hospitals where patients pay for care, all those who cannot afford to pay for services end up at Khombedza. In addition to a shortage of beds, the hospital also has poor mosquito netting, which is sometimes ripped and cannot prevent patients from contracting malaria and other diseases. The matter has been reported to the District Health Officer who can hopefully provide proper equipment or even build another health center to help provide for the 56,000 people Khombedza serves. (Nyasa Times)

Ntcheu Hospital has had to suspend major operations due to a lack of clean water in the district. The water supply has been undependable for approximately five months with conditions worsening as of late. Many people from the Ntcheu District have been forced to drink unsafe water which is causing more cases of diarrhea and other ailments. The citizens of the District called for answers from the Central Region Water Board with a ten-day ultimatum to address the issue. In the meantime, the hospital finds itself ill-equipped to help those affected by unclean drinking water, without clean laundry or properly functioning toilets. (Nyasa Times)

Though the situation at Malawi hospitals is better than in the past, there is still much need for improvement. On top of other issues, hospitals find themselves understaffed with the current nurse to patient ratio at 34:100,000 far lower than the recommended 500:100,000 (Nyasa Times). Attention is being drawn to these issues and programs to train more nurses as well as provide proper facilities and utilities are being developed. It can only be hoped with the help of the local government, as well as global support, Malawi can look forward to a brighter future of health care.

What Makes Camp Magical? The SeriousFun Network Meeting Reminds Us!

This past week, SeriousFun Children’s Network, one of our implementing partners in Camp Hope, held an international Network Meeting in Connecticut. World Camp works with SeriousFun and Baylor-Malawi to plan and implement Camp Hope, our summer camp for youth living with HIV. SeriousFun operates similar camps around the globe, and once a year brings primary staff from all camps together to share best practices and receive training. Typically, I don’t get to attend Network Meetings, they’re directed primarily at staff that implement camps in a hands-on matter. However, because the event was being held in the States, I was able to attend this year!

 The Network Meeting was one of the most reaffirming, inspiring  events I have been able to attend in a long while. Staff from  camps from around the world (Latin America and the  Caribbean, Asia, and Africa) come together to share their  experience serving youths facing serious illnesses. Seeing the  level of dedication displayed by these individuals was what was  most inspiring. The people that staff the camps around the world are those that have grown up in  that environment and have chosen to give back to their communities. The challenges these  individuals have faced are often far greater than what I might, and their drive and passion is often  incredibly deep-rooted.

The Meeting was very well-run, bringing the joy of camp together with the quality information found at a good conference. Held at the original Hole in the Wall Gang camp, the one started by Paul Newman, the setting was beautiful if a little cold - especially for our African counterparts. Chipingo Phiri, our Country Manager who serves as Camp Hope Camp Director had not been to the US before and was so enthused to see the beautiful camp grounds and meet other Camp Directors. We attended sessions on working with the media, new activities for camp, best practices from various programs, a small seminar for African camps, and more. Highlights of the trip included ridiculous group cheers, singing songs after meals, dance circles full of show-offs, and evening activities that involved bobbing for apples and an Americana photo booth.

The feeling I will carry with me the longest will be the sense of community that can so quickly be formed in a camp environment and the knowledge that that incredible feeling of warmth is being created for our campers each year. Camp is a singular and powerful experience of both carefree fun and deep, true acceptance and the fact that we are involved in bringing that to Malawian youths living with HIV overwhelms me with a reaffirmed sense of meaning.

MediServ: Providing Medical Care and Training in Malawi

During the second week of October, World Camp ran our MediServ program in Lilongwe in partnership with Operation Medical. We hosted 16 health care providers and ancillary staff that performed 60 surgeries and 120 emergency room procedures in one week!

The average patient in need of surgery in the Central Region of Malawi arrives at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) which has 1,000 beds but typically at least 1,500 admitted patients on any given day. After being admitted to KCH, it is common for patients to wait 2-3 weeks for surgery. During this time, patients stay in 200-person wards, each served by only six nurses. One family member is allowed to stay in the ward with each patient. Just outside the hospital lies a Guardian Area, host to anywhere from 5,000-6,000 relatives of admitted patients. This area has fires for cooking and space for doing laundry. Many patients treated by the MediServ group had waited about 2 months for their surgery.

Upon arrival the first day, MediServ volunteers saw families manually ventilating pediatric patients struggling to breathe. This is ceaseless work that must be tended to every moment of the day.

The MediServ team included three RNs, three nurse anesthetists, six doctors (including Baker Henson), and five ancillary support team members. The group was split into two crews, one of which was performing surgeries, and the other worked in the Emergency Room. Both crews were honored to be able to help Malawian health professional provide services and to offer medical services to Malawians in need.

Some procedures provided included:
Caring for fractures, including a 2 year old with a skull fracture
Performance of two amputations
Multiple mastectomies
Emergency bedside tracheotomy
Removal of masses (abdominal, head, ovarian, a goiter, occipital, chest wall, ovarian)
Treatment of burns – MediServ volunteers estimated that 90% of pediatric cases in the emergency room were burns. Children did not receive pain medication while wounds were being cleaned.
Various musculoskeletal injuries – Bike and car accidents account for many injuries presented in the ER
10 dermatological surgeries

MediServ volunteers were able to visit patients in recovery and even saw some patients discharged. Even the Recovery Room is stretched thin at Kamuzu Central Hospital. There are no EKG or blood pressure monitors, only two nurses, and only one oxygen machine. In the US, there would be one oxygen machine per bed.

Another purpose of the MediServ trip is to provide training to Malawian health care providers. MediServ volunteers worked side-by-side with Malawian practitioners, offering hands-on training in all surgeries and many procedures. Further, Dr. Bipin Patel offered a lecture titled, “Gastro-Intestinal Malignancies” to third year medical students attending Medical College of Malawi.

Overall, the trip was a huge success. World Camp is excited to begin planning the next one. Our plan is to eventually operate two MediServ trips annually. There is a huge need in Malawi for experienced medical professionals. World Camp is addressing this need by providing direct health care and training Malawians.
Thank you to all our MediServ volunteers, our generous donors, Operation Medical, and all the wonderful health care professional with whom we worked in Malawi!

MediServ: Filling in Malawi's Medical Gaps

If you’ve ever walked through a public hospital in Malawi, you’ve seen they’re overcrowded, understaffed and far from spotless. World Camp has the expertise, resources, connections and willingness to make a difference.

In July 2013, John Chizimba’s uncle was in a bad bus accident. Following a visit to Lilongwe to see John’s family, his uncle boarded a bus for the four-hour ride back home to Monkey Bay. Before even leaving the city limits, the bus caught fire and panic broke out. John’s uncle, in his late 70s, jumped out the window to relative safety. The bus, however, ran over his leg, breaking his ankle. In reality, he was lucky to have escaped with only minor scratches and bruises otherwise.

John, Haley Thomas (my co-Coordinator), and I rushed to Kamuzu Central Hospital to meet John’s uncle, who had taken a cab from the accident. All waiting rooms were full. Patients were already sleeping on the floor because every bed in the hospital was full. The nurses couldn’t handle more intakes. The doctors were already in surgery. And every passenger from the burning bus had just shown up, many in worse shape than John’s uncle.

It’s because of situations like this that World Camp founder Baker Henson, with a team of surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists flew to Malawi this week. The group is the first ever volunteers in our new MediServ program. The team is there to reduce the backlog of surgeries in the Lilongwe area that builds up as a result of a lack of trained surgeons. When they are presented, non-critical surgical cases are added to a long waiting list of surgeries to make room for emergencies. People end up waiting extremely long times to receive life-changing surgeries that could enhance the quality and longevity of their lives.

The MediServ team has already enjoyed great success. The volunteers arrived ready to go, as did the hundreds of pounds of medical supplies the carried over. The group even began working at Kamuzu Central Hospital two days earlier than expected!

MediServ will host a similar team yearly, with the plan to expand to two groups a year within the next 3 years.

To support this, and our other amazing programs, donate to World Camp by visiting the following url: www.worldcamp.co/donate. A generous donor has agreed to match all donations, up to $2,000 through October 31. For the rest of this month, your dollars will go twice as far!

Join us in the launch of this remarkable program. And stay tuned for more updates from the field.


Zikomo, thank you, in advance, for your support.

Karen Clark

Board of Directors: Meet Karen Clark!

I will never forget my first volunteer trip to Malawi. I'd been to Botswana and Zimbabwe before, but only to go on safari and I felt disconnected from the people who lived there. In January 2010, I was one of only three World Camp volunteers, so I got to teach on my own and run two of the four teacher workshops.

At first, I was disappointed to only be spending half my time with students. But once I realized it was the teachers who would spend years with their students after our short camps, my outlook immediately changed and I couldn't get enough time with the adults. 

I have been part of the coordinating team for every volunteer session since then. I always tried to stress the importance of working with teachers and community leaders - educating teachers means not only that class will hear the information, but subsequent years as well. And that certainly isn't to say students should be forgotten.

More recently, I spent about a year in Malawi implementing year round programming in World Camp's schools. And while I got to spend plenty of time with teachers, parents, and community leaders, our afterschool programming focused on student leadership. 

It was incredible to see students of all ages take advantage of this new platform to engage their community and voice their thoughts on community development. Our students raised money, planted vegetable gardens, put on dramas to educate their communities on health issues, started their own clean school initiative, and volunteered to assist the elderly and sick with household chores.

It's that dedication, on the part of both students and their teachers, that keeps me passionate about World Camp's work. I'm thrilled to be on the board and remain engaged with World Camp's ever changing programs. Our afterschool programming allows students to set their own agendas and develop their leadership skills during quarterly trainings. Our educational camps still stress the importance of individual and community health as well as informed decision-making. MediServe will support Malawi's stretched medical staff and provide lifesaving care. Camp Hope gives kids living positively with HIV the chance to be kids. 

As we continue to grow and adapt to Malawi's constantly changing social landscape, please send any thoughts or ideas our way. We're making some big changes, and your experiences can only make World Camp's future better.

Karen Clark

Education: BA in Anthropology

Age: 24

Current location: New Orleans, LA

Current position: Pursuing a career in public health in New Orleans

Originally from: Sunnyvale, CA

Joined the WC Board: Fall 2013

WC Experience: Malawi Program Coordinator Summer 2010 - 2013 

First Volunteered: January 2010

Most Excited About: increasing Malawian ownership of our work in schools and communities

Favorite Malawian dish: grasshoppers. just kidding, I'm vegetarian. Nsima and pumpkin leaves.

Favorite WC moment: watching a brilliant team of Field Staff lead a full day's workshop that developed leadership skills among World Camp Club student leadership. And skydiving in Lilongwe.

Board of Directors: Meet Katy Lackey!

"The western preoccupation with time as an exact, linear unit of measurement with a future dimension is generally foreign to traditional African cultures. This seems to cause no end of anxiety for westerners. In Africa the importance of an event or activity is that it happens, not the timing or the quality. In fact, I think that the essential different between western and African cultures is that Africans are concerned with the form of life and westerners dwell on the content."

~David Mozer, Bicycling in Africa: The Places in Between

Kata-kata, my feet pound softly on the grassy earth - one after the other. The cool morning air rushes into my lungs replenishing heavy breaths. Sunlight fights its way through the billowing trees only to then be dispersed by the red dust of the dry season. I pass by the Area 3 market guys on my way back to the World Camp house. Slowly unpacking fruit and veggie stands, they casually sway to the gentle beat of reggae, nodding good morning at one another as the deep orange African sun appears from the end of the dusty road. I relish this time of day. These last moments of calmness before the world around me fully awakens.

The stillness of the Lilongwe Golf Course during my 5am run is a stark contrast to a few hours later when small hands will grasp mine tightly in anticipation of clapping our arms above our heads and shouting “Bananas of the wooooooorld, UNITE!” as 300 students, staff, and volunteers dance together ridiculously in the middle of the African savannah. 

Yet somehow these paradoxical moments evoke the same feeling. A feeling transcending time and space. A feeling that whatever is happening is enough, is all that matters. A feeling that reminds me why I am here.  

Indeed, even on my worst days in Africa or India, I woke up feeling grateful that this work –- a mix of happiness, stress, challenge, struggle, disappointment, frustration, hope -- happened. 

Because real change does not *BAM* strike or come out of an AH HA! moment. That may be the moment we look back on and declare the point of impact. But the change, in fact, is the amalgamation of a million tiny moments, everything leading up to that manifestation. It is slow, brutal, full of failures, and so inconspicuous at times that we don’t even know it’s happening until that moment of ‘impact.’ 

But that meaningful moment is a mere reflection of the importance of everything that has happened and will happen. I’ve seen it in myself. In the boy who gleans a new perspective in empowerment session, however fleeting it may be. In the girl who dares for a second to assert herself before shrinking back into a predefined role in life. In the smile behind unspoken understanding between field assistants and volunteers. 

And that is what kept bringing me back to Malawi and India. To volunteer, coordinate, and now serve on World Camp’s Board of Directors. Those small, insignificant, transient moments that somehow, together, make a world of difference in who we are, how we relate to one another, and our impact on this planet. 

Malawi and World Camp have changed a lot over the years. Not all of it has been good, not all of it has gone as planned, not all of the good things that have happened stuck. And it certainly hasn’t been easy. 

But today HIV transmission rates are lower, reproductive health has been mainstreamed into the Ministry of Education’s curriculum, conservation efforts are gaining ground, and while female secondary school rate may still be dismal, at least people are talking about ways to keep girls in school. 

World Camp joined forces to get shizzaz done in three countries; expanded from working with kids to conducting outreach with teachers, communities and local NGO staff; started the Camp Hope project working directly with HIV+ kids. Nearly 15 years later, World Camp is still prominent figure in Malawi. 

Change has happened. 

And over the years,  weaseled its way to alter the path of my own life and career as well. Several years with World Camp in India and Malawi -- two vastly different environments and cultures -- spurred a deep interest in the connection between environmental and human health. 

This carried me back to Washington DC and down to Costa Rica and Colombia, where I pursued a dual masters at the University for Peace and American University's School for International Service. I studied water quality, watershed protection, stormwater, low impact development, and climate variability, change, and adaptation. I had found my niche in water resource management and climate policy. Currently I'm finishing a multi-agency project on water utilities and extreme events (e.g. when treatment plants flood during a hurricane, how do you get potable water back online as quickly as possible?). 

As World Camp transitions into a new era of programming and leadership, I'm excited to once again be a part of this community. Change is happening. We're reassessing to figure out how we can best meet needs in Malawi that are different than when we first began, how to expand Malawian ownership, how to promote sustainability. We’ll have questions and struggles along the way, but the importance is that change happens. 

I look forward to working with current and former board members, staff, donors, volunteers, and World Camp supporters. Be sure to check in frequently to hear more about our on-going initiatives and upcoming opportunities. And please, share any feedback or ideas you may have! After all, you're already part of the change that has happened and is happening now. 

Katy Lackey

Joined the WC Board: Fall 2013

Education: Dual MA International Affairs and Natural Resources/Sustainable Development

Age: 29

Originally from: Frisco, Colorado

Current Location: Washington, D.C.

Current Position: Research Consultant, Water Environment Research Foundation

WC Experience: Malawi and India Program Coordinator 2008-2011

First Volunteered: Malawi Summer 2005

Most Excited About: increasing Malawian ownership, connecting alumni, Camp Hope

Favorite Malawian Dish: does John’s enchiladas or curry count?

Favorite WC moment: 

• When strangers go crazy together during the banana song.
• Seeing a room of 60 Malawian teenagers immediately respond “no!” and applaud when a volunteer shared that he was not married because he is gay and asked if they thought different of him knowing that. 
• Full moon futbol game on homestay at Mt. Nkoma. 
• A female student in India listening to her entire empowerment group state they wanted to be doctors, lawyers, truck drivers, and then saying “I want to be a stay at home mom. It makes me happy and I provide a good life for kids.” That’s empowerment. Having the opportunities, but making the choice. 

Board of Directors: Meet Baker Henson!

World Camp has been an important part of my life since college and founding the organization with Laura Ivey and Brenna Dorrance way back in 1999. I have been on the board in some shape or form since then and spent 10 years working on regular World Camp programming in Malawi. My first trip  to Africa to set up World Camp seems so long ago. 

During our 1st volunteer program we were novice, to say the least….To think that we designed, ordered, paid for, shipped, and distributed 10,000 T-shirts to the World Camp students during our first year with volunteers. Especially  since the T-shirts arrived the very last day that we were in country!!! We traveled as a group of 10 from South Africa to Malawi and back by car, leading camps along the way; crazy.  

We have come a long way. Our new Mediserv program is one example. This coming October I am leading a group of doctors and nurses to Lilongwe, Malawi to operate on 150-200 people who desperately need surgical care. There are only 37 registered surgeons in the entire country of 16.5 million people. This will be World Camp's first of several medical projects. It was also great to see World Camp expand to India and Honduras; we hope to return there soon! 

I am proud of World Camp's accomplishments and I look forward to the future. On occasion I still see a worn out World Camp T-shirt on a Malawian child from that first year. 

I look forward to each project and I thank you all for your support!

Baker Henson

Joined the WC Board: 1999 when I founded the Board of Directors 

Education: pursuing an M.D.; currently in surgical residency

Age: somewhere in my 30s

Current Location: Harrisburg, PA

Originally From: Boone, NC

Current Position: Vice President World Camp Inc; General Surgery Resident

WC Experience: yes

First Volunteered: N/A

Most Excited About: expanding WC's health work to the Mediserv program. 

Favorite Malawian Dish: Carlsburg

Favorite WC Moment: There are too many great ones to single any out. We have all had great moments at the projects; watching the presentations of the students, teaching that one student who finally really gets it on the final day of the project, etc. We also have all had great moments on safari; some of you will remember Pete Golf cracking the front windscreen of the landrover with his rear end. I had to drive 7 hours back to Lilongwe from Zambia in the rain with a cracked windscreen…thanks Pete.

Hope in the Heart: World Camp's programming - Camp Hope

  Not all that long ago, World Camp solicited some feedback from our network of
  alumni. We wanted to know: how can we best communicate with you, what sort of
  information are you wanting to hear from us? One of the requests from alumni
  was more information about our programs. In an effort to give the people what
  they want, we’re starting a small blog series about our current programs. Each
  week, we will feature one of our programs, give a little background, discuss where the program is headed and share some wonderful photos. This week we will be focusing on Camp Hope, our camp for HIV-positive children.

This summer World Camp will be operating our fourth Camp Hope. The focus of Camp Hope is living positively, drug regimen adherence, life skills, nutrition, dealing with stigma and discrimination, and of course, a dose of classic summer camp fun. Camp Hope is a unique program because it specializes in psychosocial support, an oft-neglected programming area. Many programs that target individuals living with HIV/AIDS focus entirely on the physical effects of the disease. While one cannot underplay the importance of such programming, it does not address the patient as a whole. Camp is an opportunity for our campers to simply be kids, to live free from the secrecy and stigma that they normally face, and a chance to bond with children dealing with similar obstacles.

World Camp operates Camp Hope with two partner organizations. The first is SeriousFun Children’s Network, formerly The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps. SeriousFun is a global network of camps dedicated to providing children with “serious illnesses” an opportunity to simply be kids, to have fun, and where campers could, in founder Paul Newman’s words, “raise a little hell.” The third member of our partnership is Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation, Malawi. Baylor- Malawi is related to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Baylor-Malawi’s mission is to conduct a program of high-quality, high impact, highly ethical pediatric and family HIV/AIDS care and treatment, health professional training and clinical research.

All campers come to camp through the Baylor-Malawi healthcare system, meaning that they are aware of their HIV status and are currently receiving antiretroviral therapy. Campers must also be healthy enough to attend Camp and participate in all the fun events we organize each year. Baylor-Malawi provides doctors and nurses to provide medical care on-site during the weeks of Camp.

This year marks a possible huge turning point in the program. The Camp Hope partnership received a grant from UNICEF which is allowing us to reach out to 50% more campers than originally anticipated! This summer we are expecting to host 150 campers during two, weeklong camp sessions this August. 

 World Camp also operates a follow-up program in the months after camp proper. These sessions bring back together all 80 campers to continue to build on the lessons from Camp. Further, these sessions allow campers to continue to build relationships with one another and feel directly the support of the Camp Hope staff. This year World Camp is working to incorporate into World Camp children from our area of geographic focus, the Malikha Zone. The goal is to bring 30 campers to Camp from the Malikha which would be especially amazing as they campers are currently not receiving any services.

Stay tuned for more updates or write us with any questions!

Board of Directors: Meet Reinier Terwindt!

As I am thinking about what keeps bringing me back to World Camp, I remember a quote by Steve Jobs that I’ve always liked:

When you grow up you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family, have fun,, save a little money.  That's a very limited life.  Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use (Jobs, 1995)

What does Steve Jobs have to do with Malawi?  

For the past eight years I've been interested in development in Africa, particularly with regards to people's access to quality education. When talking to people working in this field, I've often been told that Africa's development challenges -- like HIV/AIDS, poor educational standards, and bad governance -- just are the way they are. That they're simply too vast and complicated to solve. 

World Camp began with a group of young people who fundamentally disagreed with that sentiment. It is this World Camp spirit that keeps bringing me back since I first volunteered in Malawi in 2009. This spirit is also precisely what World Camp and the communities it works with have in common. 

After finishing my Masters in London, I came back to Malawi in 2011 to work on increasing the sustainability of World Camp’s programs. By far, the most important thing I learned during my time there is that somehow, despite whatever particular odds, young Malawians keep coming up with their own solutions to the complicated challenges that they face. In Steve Jobs' words: young Malawians everywhere are building their own solutions rather than accepting that the world is just the way it is. 

My work for World Camp has therefore always focused on strengthening these students in their own fight against existing issues. In my years as a World Camp Program Coordinator, as well as in between sessions, we worked on this in three major ways. One such way has been our work on student activism, by training afterschool clubs on ways to conduct community outreach about HIV/AIDS. Another way has been to meet with School Management Committees and Parent Teachers Associations to discuss how parents can become more involved with their children's education. A third way has been to learn from teachers about their challenges to deliver Malawi's life skills curriculum and suggest possible more interactive ways to go about this. 

I recently completed my graduate studies in International Educational Policy at Columbia University's Teachers College in New York City. I currently work at the United Nations on anti-corruption in the private sector and more generally in business engagement in the global Post-2015 Agenda. My spirit to continue working with Malawian communities remains, which is why I'm very excited to have joined World Camp's Board of Directors in late 2013. 

It has been great to get together with old and new friends to discuss World Camp's path forward. We are all excited to continue to learn from Malawi's youth and making sure that they are able to carry out their solutions to Malawi's challenges. 

I would like to end by saying that World Camp has developed into a strong organization because of its large network of young people who believe that complicated challenges are more easily solved when working together. As we move forward, please get in touch with us to share your ideas on our programs so that we continue to build stronger communities collectively.   

Reinier Terwindt 

Joined the WC Board: Fall 2013

Education: MA Anthropology of Development and M.Ed International Educational Development 

Age: 27

Originally from: Nijmegen, Netherlands

Current location: New York City

Current position: Anti-Corruption & Good Governance Research, United Nations 

WC Experience: Malawi Program Coordinator 2011-2012

First Volunteered: Malawi Summer 2009

Most Excited About: promoting student activism, increasing Malawian ownership

Favorite Malawian dish: nsima with nkuku 

Favorite WC moment: working on World Camp's creative writing program with Michael Kumwenda and George Kansilanga & genet hunt in Zambia 

Check out our new Board of Directors!

World Camp has a revamped Board of Directors! We're excited to see what we can achieve in 2014 with so many great people investing their time in World Camp. Over the years we've been blessed with so many wonderful, talented and highly dedicated volunteers. And now our Board of Directors is entirely made up of passionate alumni. We thought you all might want to know a little bit about who's steering the helm of World Camp these days!

Robert Lamb is the current Board President. Rob worked as a Program Coordinator (PC) and office staff member from 2006 - 2008. Prior to working with World Camp, Rob had led wilderness trips and taught English abroad. Since working for World Camp he earned his law degree and just recently moved to Durham where he is now working for a small immigration firm that helps people obtain green cards and defends individuals that are being deported.  Rob said he likes serving on the board because World Camp is an enriching program that helps a lot of people learn and grow.

 Rachel Dudasik serves as Program Coordinator for the LIVESTRONG exercise program for adult cancer survivors for the YMCAs  of Western North Carolina. Rachel joined the board, "In hopes of John Chizimba's cake making its way to the US. And to  continue with an organization dedicated to some of the issues that drive both my personal and professional path."  Rachel  interned with World Camp in 2009 and then continued on as a PC from 2009 to 2011.

Baker Henson has been working with World Camp since putting through the original paperwork to found the organization. Baker's love for the Malawian people and understanding of cultural nuances have made him an amazing leader in World Camp's work, including leading over 200 WC volunteers through the program. Baker has also worked in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Baker is currently completing his surgical residency in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania but remains dedicated to World Camp’s work and mission.

 Laura Ivey lives in Asheville, North Carolina. She co-founded World Camp and served as a Director until 2004. She is thrilled to  see that the organization has grown from a short term volunteer program to an organization with ongoing community  partnerships with schools, the Ministry of Education, and other NGOs. She is excited to join World Camp once again to be part  of a team that really does make a difference in so many lives.

Reinier Terwindt, currently in New York City volunteered for WC in the summer of 2009 and then began a 14 month stint in Malawi with WC in 2011. Reinier did a lot of work during that time that has helped develop our current programming. He was mainly interested in serving on the Board because he remains very inspired by the great work that World Camp has done and the potential it has to greatly increase its impact in Malawi. "I’m very excited about being part of a team of young talented people, of whom several played a crucial role in founding the organization, who are passionate about capacity building in World Camp’s partner communities."

 Karen Clark returned to Sunnyvale, California this past fall after having coordinated every session from the summer of 2010  through this past summer. Karen first volunteered with WC in January of 2010 and has been a driving force within the  organization ever since. Karen is working at Stanford but chose to become involved with the board because her time in  Malawi made such a large impact on her and she wanted to stay involved with WC’s work.

Scott Coriell, currently in Vermont, volunteered in the summer of '06 and coordinated the summer of 2008 sessions and the summer and January programs in 2009. He had this to say about his involvement with the board: "Like almost everyone who has done a World Camp program, the experience had a big impact on me. I was lucky to volunteer and work for the organization over a number of years, experiencing firsthand the amazing volunteers, translators, students, teachers and others in the World Camp orbit. It's a truly amazing group of people motivated to do amazing things. I'm excited about the opportunity to help set a direction for the organization worthy of all those amazing people."

 Katy Lackey volunteered with WC back in the summer of 2005 and then coordinated 10 sessions between 2008 and 2010 in  both Malawi and India. Katy has just completed a dual-MA in International Affairs and Natural Resources/Sustainable  Development in Washington, DC. She has worked extensively throughout Latin America with a focus on water quality, weather  patterns and storm water management. "My previous time with World Camp was life-changing. There's no other way to  describe it. It was intense, wonderful, difficult. But working in these incredible places - India and Malawi - on environmental and health issues, and the people who challenged my perspectives and changed my ideas, is what brought me to pursue my master's degree and a career in water and how water relates to human and environmental health. I guess I wanted to serve on the Board for two reasons: to give back to the organization and local staff who helped make me who I am today, and to help sustain and improve the important and inspiring work World Camp does."

The very newest member of our Board, Katie Sacca, just came on! We're so excited to have her joining us but haven't yet gotten her answers on these questions. Know that very soon we'll be featuring bios on all of our members, including Ms Sacca!

Renewable Energy in Malawi? A Sustainable Future for the Warm Heart

A sustainable future is something we should aspire to. Expending natural resources in order to provide energy is a worldwide problem. In Malawi, the Warm Heart of Africa, only about 9% of the population has access to electricity. Electricity in Malawi is controlled entirely by The Electricity Supply Corporation (ESC) of Malawi, a company owned by the government. This government-owned entity controls all of the power centers in all of Malawi. ESC provides limited electricity that is out of the financial reach of the majority of Malawi’s 16.7 million people. A lack of electricity has created additional problems within Malawi, as satisfying the energy needs of so many people has inevitably led to the exhaustion of natural resources.

Malawians that do not have electricity use firewood for everyday energy needs, such as cooking and heating. The majority of wood energy users are in the rural area, where the majority of the population lives, about 80% of the population, according to the CIA World Factbook. This means about 13,360,000 people live in the countryside villages of Malawi using wood energy. Over roughly 7 years (1983-1990), wood consumption increased from 8.5 million tons to about 12 million tons per year, an increase of about 41%. In that same time, demand for wood from the tobacco industry increased by about 29%. This long-term, high rate of reliance on firewood has led to a major deforestation issue in Malawi.

While a majority of wood is still used for rural cooking and heating, there is a large demand for wood elsewhere within the nation as well (see diagram at left). There is a massive countrywide need for firewood, but because of the quick depletion of forests, the resources are vanishing quickly. Hardly any regulations exist in Malawi about cutting down trees, and the regulations that do exist are easily illegally circumvented. Continued loss of forests will have an overwhelming deleterious effect on the Malawian environment. Soil erosion has become an increasing problem due to the high rate of deforestation. Without trees to soak up water during the rainy season, healthy topsoil is washed away leaving no nutrients in the ground for growing food or planting new trees. The lack of nutrient-rich soil makes growing crops increasingly difficult and adds further economic strain on poor farmers who must now invest in expensive fertilizers.

The listed statistics are basic measurements of Malawi’s overall energy consumption. While only 2.5% of Malawi’s energy was renewably source in 2010, the vast majority of Malawi’s electricity is renewably sourced from hydroelectricity. Malawi expects to expand their energy prospects on the national grid in the next few years, as projected in this graph.

The map below is of potential locations for hydroelectricity production that are not yet being utilized. Hydroelectricity creates energy by harvesting energy from bodies of water, in laymen’s terms. Since Malawi claims a large part of Lake Malawi, and several tributaries of the Lake, there are many untapped resources within the country.

Another largely untapped resource in Malawi is solar power. While solar energy is not a part of the grid in Malawi, it does exist in certain regions. Malawi is located in sub-Saharan Africa where many countries receive around six hours of peak sunlight a day. There is so much potential in levels of sunlight like this for solar power that the entire country could potentially access it very cheaply and easily through the assistance of outside sources. Solar power does exist in small communities but it is mostly funded by NGOs and does not provide energy to the national grid. If the people were provided with photovoltaic panels, they could power their communities and truly raise development levels.

Finally, another resource that could assist the grid’s sustainability is wind energy.

There are many exciting projects going on in Malawi, some initiated by the people of Malawi, and some by local or foreign NGOs. If these projects have the potential to combine with the existing energy grid, there is the potential for more electricity, largely from renewable resources. Since the majority of Malawian electricity is already hydroelectricity, hopes for expanding the amount of electricity produced through renewable sources is plausible. By moving the country into a new era of renewable energy that does not harm the environment, the pristine beauty of the country could be restored and protected while also creating more electricity. Africa’s warm heart could be a model for green development, leading even more developed – without introducing controversial nuclear power or harming the environment.

This piece was written by Nicole Bradley, based on a final research paper for her undergraduate degree. Edited by Emily Stallings.